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Police detectives dig deeper in BoU currency saga as three officials are rearrested

By
Our Reporter
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Milton Opio

Three officials from Bank of Uganda have been rearrested by CID and other agencies investigating the allegedly printing of Shs90 billion and will be produced in court.

The three face charges of abuse of office and neglect of duty. The officials are Caroline Nankabirwa, from procurement department, Simon Peter Zaribugire from currency department and Milton Opio, director security.

Investigators from the Uganda police say investigation into the Bank of Uganda continue and will soon issue a new statement on the latest developments concerning the currency consignment saga in which a chartered plane delivered five crates alongside 20 pallets of BoU consignment.

“Our officers in partnership with other agencies are still doing the investigations and I promise we will soon issue a statement to clear rumours in the media,” an officer who is part of the team said on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to talk to the media.

The chartered plane landed at Entebbe International Airport on April 27 and was cleared by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) customs department in the presence of BoU officials, BoU security, aviation security, police and other security agencies. However, it was reported that instead of the expected 20 pallets, the consignment had 25 pallets.

The officer said the investigations spearheaded by CID Director Grace Akullo have expanded countrywide to BoU regional currency centres of Kabale, Mbale and Fort Portal, after leads brought those centres into picture.

The detective explained that heads of BoU currency centres in the three regions are being interrogated on whether they had prior knowledge on the five extra pallets that were transported on the chartered plane, which had on board, newly printed Uganda Shilling notes.
The source said the CID team is also probing how and why the directors were transferred to regional currency centres from the head office in Kampala, prior to the arrival of the BoU consignment.

Available information indicates that the Central Bank sent its officials to pick printed cash overseas and alerted Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) about a consignment that required fast clearance.

Sources indicated that the head of Mbale currency centre who was abruptly called to witness the offloading of BoU consignment became suspicious of the extra pallets and briefed BoU Governor Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile.

But Tumusiime-Mutebile on Tuesday reiterated that there was no extra consignment containing printed money besides that which was officially sanctioned by the bank.

‘I simply said that it was an anomaly in the sense that the plane came along with 20 pallets and additionally five crates (that were not ours). The 20 pallets were consigned,” Mutebile said while reading the latest monetary policy statement, urging media to ignore rumours citing that there was extra money printed.

Mutebile’s comments come after government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo disowned an investigation by police in relation to the unfolding currency scandal at Bank of Uganda.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga told journalists yesterday that investigators were investigating allegations that additional money was printed and smuggled into the country. The figure that has been thrown about is Shs 90 billion.

But government through Ofwono Opondo, the executive director of Uganda Media Centre said they were not aware of any investigation regarding this money.

“I disagree with Fred Enanga’s statement about investigations in relation to the extra cargo of Shs 90 billion,” said Ofwono.

Opondo said government now wants Enanga to put the record straight.

“We are asking police to correct the statement [that there is an investigation over Shs 90 billion].”

Ofwono said government is investigating the extra boxes on the plane that contained equipment for testing blood.

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UN report pins Saudi crown prince over murder of journalist Khashoggi

By
Agencies
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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) has denied any knowledge of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder

There is credible evidence that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other high-level officials are individually liable for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a UN expert says.

A report by special rapporteur Agnes Callamard says the evidence merits further investigation by an independent and impartial international inquiry.

Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by Saudi agents.

Saudi authorities insist they were not acting on Prince Mohammed’s orders.

The Gulf kingdom has put 11 unidentified people on trial behind closed doors for Khashoggi’s murder and is seeking the death penalty for five of them.

However, Ms Callamard said the trial failed to meet international procedural and substantive standards, and called for it to be suspended.

How did Jamal Khashoggi die?

The 58-year-old journalist, a US-based columnist for the Washington Post and prominent critic of Prince Mohammed, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate on 2 October to obtain papers he needed to marry his fiancée Hatice Cengiz.

Ms Callamard, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said Khashoggi was “brutally slain” inside the consulate that day.

Saudi Arabia’s deputy public prosecutor Shalaan Shalaan told reporters in November that the murder was ordered by the head of a “negotiations team” sent to Istanbul by the Saudi deputy intelligence chief to force Khashoggi to return to the kingdom from his self-imposed exile.

Investigators concluded that Khashoggi was forcibly restrained after a struggle and injected with a large amount of a drug – resulting in an overdose that led to his death, Mr Shalaan said. His body was then dismembered and handed over to a local “collaborator” outside the consulate, he added.

Five individuals had confessed to the murder, Mr Shalaan asserted, adding: “[The crown prince] did not have any knowledge about it.”

What does the report say?

In January, the UN’s human rights office tasked Ms Callamard with establishing “the nature and extent of states’ and individuals’ responsibilities for the killing”.

Senior Saudi officials insisted that Khashoggi’s death was the result of a “rogue” operation, but the special rapporteur’s report concludes that it was “an extrajudicial killing for which the state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is responsible”.

“From the perspective of international human rights law, state responsibility is not a question of, for example, which of the state officials ordered Mr Khashoggi’s death; whether one or more ordered a kidnapping that was botched and then became an accidental killing; or whether the officers acted on their own initiative or ultra vires[beyond their authority],” the report notes.

Ms Callamard also determined that there was “credible evidence, warranting further investigation of high-level Saudi officials’ individual liability, including the crown prince’s”, according to the report.

The special rapporteur says the crown prince should be subject to the targeted sanctions already imposed by some UN member states, including the US, against other named individuals allegedly involved in the killing.

The sanctions, focusing on his personal assets abroad, should remain in place “until and unless evidence has been produced that he bears no responsibility for the execution of Mr Khashoggi”, the reports says.

The trial of the 11 suspects currently taking place in Saudi Arabia should be suspended, according to Ms Callamard, because this was an international crime, over which there is universal jurisdiction. That would allow other states, such as Turkey or the United States, to also attempt a prosecution.

The report says the UN Security Council should initiate a follow-up criminal investigation into Khashoggi’s murder to build up strong files on each of the alleged perpetrators and identify mechanisms for formal accountability, such as a tribunal.

There was no immediate response to the report from the Saudi government.

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Four charged with shooting down MH17 plane

By
Agencies
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MH17

Dutch investigators have accused three Russians, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko of involvement.

Passenger flight MH17 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over conflict-hit Ukraine.

A court case is scheduled to begin in the Netherlands on 9 March 2020.

International arrest warrants have been issued for the four men.

On Wednesday, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) said the four men named were believed to be responsible for transporting the Buk missile used to shoot down flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine.

The JIT, which seeks to try the suspects under Dutch law, has previously said it had a “long list” of persons of interest and appealed again for witnesses as the investigation continues.

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Kasese leaders again threaten to drag Museveni to ICC over mistreatment of King Mumbere

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Former LoP Winnie Kiiza

Kasese leaders, including the former leader of opposition (LOP) in parliament who doubles as the Kasese woman MP, Winnie Kiiza, have threatened to reconsider the dragging of president Museveni, Maj. Gen peter Elwelu and Assistant Inspector General of Police Asuman Mugenyi to International criminal Court (ICC) over the attack of Rwenzururu kingdom in 2016 and blocking of king Charles Wesley Mumbere from attending the burial ceremony of his mother.

In December 2016, a group of Members of Parliament from the Rwenzori sub-region, petitioned ICC, requesting for investigations into the infamous Kasese killings. Over 100 civilians were killed during the assault and scores left injured, with the king currently facing terrorism prosecution.

The Queen Mother, Her Royal Highness Christine Biira Mukirania died on Tuesday last week at Kilembe Hospital where she had been admitted and was laid to rest at their ancestral land in Bundibugyo amid controversy.

After she was pronounced dead, King Mumbere through his layers led by Celeb Alaka and Samuel Muyizzi, petitioned high Court seeking for relaxation of bail conditions to allow him attend the burial ceremony of his mother.

High court judge, Eva Luswata, allowed him to travel to the three districts that constitute the Kingdom and cultural practices for the sendoff of his mother.

To her dismay, Kiiza said the Omusinga did not attend the burial ceremony after the state minister for agriculture Christopher Kibanzanga decided to transport the body to Bundibugyo where she was buried.

“We got shocked that the government expected around 15 people at the airstrip, we were also shocked that the government expected a list of people to attend the queen mother’s burial, in our culture we don’t invite people for burial. We were also surprised to know that the body of the queen mother was guarded by UPDF while in the mortuary,” she said during a press briefing.

Kiiza said till now the king has not accessed Kasese even after court relaxed her bail conditions. “We are worried that our king may not access Kasese in the two weeks that were granted to him by court. We want to consider dragging them to ICC.”

“I send my sincere appreciation to the people of Kasese that braved the sun in waiting for our King, His Majesty Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere. Even amidst the unfavorable circumstances, I would like to reassert that our efforts in waiting for the Omusinga are not in vain. As day follows the night, and by the grace of God, we shall today, tomorrow or the other day have him back home. We shall not give in or give up,” she said

In a couple of days, president Museveni is expected in Kasese sub region as part of his own-going campaign on poverty eradication and wealth creation.

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Record 70.8m people displaced at end of 2018, says UN

By
Our Reporter
-
South Sudanese refugees at Koluba transit centre.

More than 70 million people were counted last year as displaced from their homes, a record that underestimates the real number of refugees and asylum seekers, the UN said Wednesday.

In its annual global trends report, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) described the figure of 70.8 million at the end of 2018 as “conservative”, particularly because the number of people who fled Venezuela’s devastating crisis is undercounted.

At the end of 2017, by comparison, 68.5 million people were counted as being forcibly displaced by violence or persecution.

The UNHCR attributed the increase partly to surging displacement in Ethiopia caused by inter-ethnic conflict, and in Venezuela, where thousands are fleeing every day amid an economic collapse that has triggered shortages of basic food and medicine.

An estimated 3.3 million people have left Venezuela since the start of 2016, according to the UN.

UNHCR head Filippo Grandi told reporters in Geneva the figure of 70.8 million only includes Venezuelans who had officially applied for asylum — roughly half a million people.

Overall, the number of displaced people in the world has doubled over the last 20 years and now exceeds the population of Thailand.

The trend, Grandi said, continues to go in “the wrong direction”.

Conflicts ‘never’ end

According to Amnesty International, a refugee is a person who flees their home country and cannot or will not return due to conflict or fear of persecution.

The report lists 41.3 million internally displaced people (IDPs), 25.9 million refugees, and 3.5 million asylum seekers — those awaiting a decision on their bid for official refugee protection.

The countries with the most internally displaced people — fleeing within their own countries — are Syria, wracked by conflict since 2011 and Colombia, plagued by decades of violence, said the UNHCR.

The group of refugees, it added, included 5.5 million Palestinians scattered across several countries, notably Lebanon and Jordan.

The best solution for a refugee is to be able to return home once their country stabilises, but Grandi noted that 20 percent have been in exile for more than two decades.

“We have become almost unable to make peace,” the UNHCR chief said.

“It is true there are new conflicts, new situations producing refugees…, (but) the old ones never get resolved,” he added. “When is the last conflict that you remember was resolved?”

‘Praise’ for Germany

The UNHCR has at times sought to push back against the phrase “migrant crisis”, especially as it has been applied to an influx of people into Europe via the Mediterranean sea.

The agency has argued that while mass migration does pose serious challenges, it can be managed, particularly by wealthier nations.

Grandi praised Germany for its acceptance of migrants and its efforts to “demystify” the notion that migration is unmanageable, “even when the numbers are very big.”

“I usually don’t like to praise and criticise but I think in this case, I’d like to praise Germany for what it has done,” said Grandi in Geneva, ahead of the report’s launch in Berlin.

He noted that Chancellor Angela Merkel had paid a “heavy price” politically for her openness to migration, arguing this made her actions “even more courageous”.

Attachments area

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Netherlands to name suspects in 2014 attack on MH17

By
Agencies
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MH17 crash

International investigators are set to launch criminal proceedings against the people suspected of shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine nearly five years ago.

The Dutch-led international team tasked with assigning criminal responsibility for the mid-air attack on the plane will inform victims’ families of the progress in their case on Wednesday morning, and make a presentation to the media afterwards.

Dutch broadcasters RTL and NOS reported late last week that investigators would name individual suspects.

An Interfax Ukraine report on Tuesday quoted Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Olena Zerkal in an interview as saying prosecutors would name the four “top” suspects.

MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014 over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board, most of them Dutch, were killed.

A joint investigation team formed by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine found that the plane was shot down by a Russian missile.

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Think Tank drags WFP, minister Aceng to court over contaminated food that killed resident of Karamoja

By
Isaiah Mwebaze
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Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng

A local Think Tank, Anti Counterfeit Network (ACN) Limited has dragged to court the World Food Programme (WFP), The Minister of Health Jane Ruth Aceng and the Attorney General William Byaruhanga over the contaminated food that killed people in Karamoja.

The agency petitioned court to declare that the supply of contaminated food by WFP to the people of Karamoja violated international standards and amounted to negligent, inhuman, degrading, illegal, unreasonable and irrational act of public misfeasance.

In March this year, food poisoning occurred, which left 262 suffering mental illness and four dead in Napak and Amudat districts.

It is alleged that the victims suffered mental illness, vomiting, headache, high fever and abdominal pains in communities resulting from consuming the super cereal corn soya blend supplied to Karamoja Sub-region by WFP.

In the case filed before Kampala High Court, ACN is seeking declaration that the supply of contaminated food was due to the negligence of WFP, the Health ministry and government.

Through its lawyers, Muwema and Company Advocates, ACN is seeking a declaration that WFP is liable for the injuries and deaths wants compensation and provision be made for costs of the suit.

“A declaration that the failure by the health minister and government to cause the reprimand, sanction or prosecution of the first respondent (WFP), its agents or servants for the acts and omissions is an act of connivance against the public which is illegal, irrational and procedurally irregular,” reads the petition in part.

It is alleged that the act of supplying contaminated food is capable of causing widespread serious bodily injury and death is an act of bio-terrorism which is criminal.

In May, the Ministry of Health issued a public statement indicating that the laboratory tests had revealed the food had bacterial contamination and the potential cancer causing aflatoxins. However the report of the tests was not released to the public and ACN wants Court to order that the report be released.

The petitioners state that WFP has a duty to ensure that food aid supplied to various communities is of quality and free from any adverse substances.

Court is yet to set a hearing date.

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Building dam will have no impact on Murchison Falls, says veteran UPC politician Kanyomozi

By
George Mangula
-

Veteran politician, Yonasani Kanyomozi, has said the construction a dam will not have an impact on Murchison Falls if it is put underground as the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) government had planned in the 1960s.

“The Dam will have no impact on the falls if it is put underground as we had planned in the late 1960’s. The river flow at the Murchison is above 600cubic meters. You need only 100cubic meters to run the turbines underground. The remaining 500cumecs will fantastically make the falls as if nothing has happened. Please check the archives of UEB if they were not destroyed or privatized!!! Kanyomozi Yona,” he said in reference to an on-going recent campaign to block the move to construct the dam after Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) received an application from a company to build the dam near the famous falls.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, yesterday while presiding over plenary, urged the government to abandon the proposed construction of a power dam at Murchison Falls.
“On behalf of the citizens, I am seeking an assurance from the government that Murchison Falls is not going to be interfered with,” she said.

Kadaga said the government must respond to the growing opposition to the dam project. “The country is on tension; the hoteliers are on tension and our tourism industry is under threat, we need early assurance on this issue,” she said.

State Investment Minister Evelyn Anite days ago also blasted those planning to construct the dam at the falls. “I don’t see the logic of constructing a dam and generating electricity there,” Ms Anite said, adding, she agreed with the bigger public opinion that government should not build the dam at the spot.”

The proposal to construct the dam was submitted to ERA on June 7, 2019 by Bonang power project. “Bonang Power Energy (Pty) Limited intends to undertake detailed feasibility studies and other activities leading to the development of the above mentioned power project whose proposed installed capacity is 360-megawatts,” the notice read in part.

However, the proposal has been rejected by conservationists, tour operators, nature lovers and the entire tourism fraternity in Uganda. Within 2 weeks after the announcement, over 3000 people have signed the petition against the construction of a hydropower plant at Murchison falls national park.

The proposed dam is to be constructed on top of the falls about 65 kilometers, west of the recently constructed 600 MW Karuma Hydropower dam which will be officially commissioned in 2020.

Situated in the hearty of Murchison falls national park, Murchison falls is one of the natural wonders that made Uganda be called the “Pearl of Africa”. The falls is undeniably one of the top tourist attractions in the country, a must visit by most travelers on Uganda safari.

Many people have reacted in resistance to the construction of the power project at Murchison falls. The top petitioners in this are the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), a government body responsible for tourism and wildlife conservation in Uganda together with Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) responsible for tourism product development and marketing in Uganda and the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) which joins together all travel and tour operators in Uganda.

The above three bodies have initiated the campaign (“SAVE MURCHISON FALL”) via social media networks mainly Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, and emails urging lovers of Murchison fall to petition against the hydropower project proposal. Interestingly, the campaign has been welcomed and joined by several people counting to over 25,000 by now.

Construction of the Murchison falls dam, they say, will definitely shut tourism to the mighty falls. This will limit the number of tourist arrivals to Murchison falls national park since the falls are a major attraction in the park. Also, the construction of a power dam is against the efforts to promote tourism in Uganda. The petition was initiated by Amos Murungi an environmentalist and welcomed by many nature lovers who willingly signed the petition via social media especially Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, and email.

Murchison falls is just one of the target areas where Bonang Power Limited plans to construct hydropower dams. Other areas in Question include Agog, Uhuru, and Kiba. The construction of a power dam at Murchison Falls will generate 2,550 MW of electricity creating reliable supply to the country and enhancing economic development, they say.

Murchison falls is one of the major tourist attractions in Uganda, which attract thousands of travelers to the park. A boat cruise to the bottom of the falls is a must do, a hike to the top of the falls offers visitors spectacular views of the falls and the park while the delta area which forms part of Murchison fails is the best sport for lots of birds and water animals such as hippos, crocodiles, and hippos among others.

About Bonang Power Project
Bonang is a power company that was established in 2014 by tycoon Ernst Moloi with its headquarters in Norway. Some people say that the project has other offices in South Africa. Since its establishment, Bonang has successfully built 2 power dams and the one at Murchison falls will be the 3rd.

About Murchison falls national park
Spreading over 3,893 square kilometers, Murchison falls national park is Uganda’s biggest park located in northwestern Uganda on the shores of Lake Albert. The park was established in 1952 hence Uganda’s oldest national park comprised of Bugungu and Karuma falls and wildlife reserve. The park is named after the mighty Murchison falls in which Nile River squeezes through a 7-meter gorge to fall for 43 meters with a thunderous roar to form the Nile Delta with a permanent rainbow.

The vegetation in Murchison falls National Park comprises of main savannahs while woodland and riverine forests cover other areas. These serve as food and habitats for various birds and wild animals. The park is known to have a high concentration of wildlife which includes over 76 mammal species and over 451 birds hence one of the notable birding spots in Uganda.

Petitioners say the construction of a hydropower project will kill tourism in Murchison falls national park. Join the petition today and save Uganda’s mighty falls for sustainable tourism.

The Tourism minister, Prof Ephraim Kamuntu, yesterday, said that tourism was the major driver for our economy that Uganda’s earnings from the sector is far bigger than coffee, tea, cotton and tobacco”.
“What has happened so far was just a notice [on intention to develop dam at Murchison Falls]; it is not a project,” he said, stating he had been inundated with petitions against the dam proposal.

The number of tourists flocking into Uganda in 2018 increased by 300,000 to 1.4 million from the year before, bringing in millions more dollars, with Murchison Falls National Park being the second biggest contributor to the tourism revenue.

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MP Odonga Otto reportedly assaults journalist while covering football match

By
Jimmy Komakech
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Aruu South county legislator Samuel Odong Otto

Geoffrey Okot, a journalist working with Choice FM in Gulu district, was allegedly assaulted on June 16, 2019 by Aruu County Member of Parliament Odonga Otto.

According to reports, Okot together with his fellow journalists were set to cover a football match between Acholi Province and West Nile Province organised by Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) at Pece War Memorial Stadium. The journalists had convened at a point reserved for them by the football authorities.

Reports say before the match could start, spectators moved close to the pitch prompting the area leaders that included Otto, Gilbert Olanya and Anthony Akol among others to push them away so as to create space.

Otto is said to have moved to the area where the journalists had convened and punched Okot on the back and around the neck. Okot tried to explain that he is a journalist but Otto could not stop punching him.

“I was squatting at the stadium with my fellow colleagues waiting for the match to begin. From nowhere, Odonga Otto punched me around the neck and the back until I knelt down. I explained to him that I am a journalist but he was arrogant. He said he doesn’t care because I am a journalist from a fake media house,” Okot told Human Rights Network for Journalists in Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda), adding that he is experiencing a lot of pain and is expected to meet an orthopedic at Gulu Referral Hospital for further management.

Okot’s narrative is corroborated by Willy Ochwoo, a fellow journalist who was at the scene, “we were about 20 journalists accredited by FUFA Drum organisers to cover the match. In the area where we were squatting, spectators had drone close to the pitch forcing the area members of parliament to push them backwards. Okot was squatting at the extreme end where the journalists had convened. From nowhere, Odonga Otto punched him on the back and the neck,” Chowoo told HRNJ-Uganda.

Okot has opened up an assault case at Gulu Central Police Station vide 50/16/06/2019 and is yet to record a statement.

When the Regional Spokesperson for Aswa Region, Jimmy Okema was contacted by HRNJ-Uganda about the incident, he said, “I have not got details about that concern because the Deputy IGP was around and we spent the whole of yesterday traversing the region. Am also getting concern from some journalists trying to inquire about the same incident. But if i get the details, I will let you know,” said, Okema.

‘It is so disheartening that an area Member of Parliament who is expected to be exemplary to the people he leads beat up a journalist. We condemn such actions in the strongest terms. We implore the Uganda Police to expeditiously handle the matter so that the journalist gets justice.” Said the HRNJ-Uganda Executive Director, Robert Ssempala.

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No Ebola in Mbarara, Health ministry says

By
Isaiah Mwebaze
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Health Minister, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng

The Ministry of Health in a press release, says there no Ebola outbreak in Mbarara as some sections of the local media are reporting, even though a suspected case in the area is under observation by experts.

“Some sections of the media are awash with rumors of ‘Ebola in Mbarara District.’ The Ministry of Health would like to clarify that there is NO confirmed case of Ebola in Mbarara District. The Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital does not have any patient admitted in the ETU at the moment,” the ministry said on Monday.

It added that as of today (Monday, Uganda has not registered any new confirmed Ebola case in Kasese District or any other part of Uganda since the last registered case four days ago. There are 2 new suspect cases who are under isolation at Bwera ETU. Blood samples were withdrawn from the suspect cases and sent to Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) for testing and results are pending.

“Currently, 92 contacts to the confirmed Ebola cases in Kagando and Bwera are being followed up daily. Ring vaccination of contacts of the confirmed Ebola cases, as well as non-vaccinated frontline health and other workers, commenced on Saturday 15th June 2019. As of Monday 17th June, a total of 128 contacts and non-vaccinated Frontline and health have been vaccinated,” it said.

The ministry said there are three confirmed cases of Ebola who include; 5 year index case from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his 50 year old grandmother both who passed on at Bwera ETU and the 3 year old boy, brother to the index case who tested positive for Ebola and was under isolation at Bwera ETU passed on in DRC.

On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus held bilateral talks with President Yoweri Museveni on potential interventions to end the Ebola outbreak both in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Kasese District.

Dr. Tedros arrived in Uganda after visiting Butembo and Katwa- areas affected by the outbreak in North Kivu province in Eastern DRC. During his brief to President Museveni about the situation in Eastern DRC, Dr Tedros reiterated WHO’s ongoing support to the Government of Uganda to control the Ebola outbreak. “I am pledging our continued support, in order to control this outbreak as soon as possible” he said.

Dr Tedros praised the steps Uganda had taken to prepare for a potential outbreak. “We must invest in preparedness—this is the smartest investment we can make,” he stated. He expressed his confidence in Uganda’s strong and sustainable resilient systems to respond to the current Ebola outbreak in Kasese, western Uganda.

Museveni appreciated the response by the Ugandan health workers in their efforts in containing the outbreak and encouraged them to continue the good work they are doing. President Museveni also committed to support the efforts of WHO in the DRC and also reach out to the leaders in DRC.

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